chapter 27 - fever

(Credits: @haiyan331 on twitter)

"Diluc!" I ran to his laying figure in his cell. He was unconscious, wrapped in bandages on the floor.

"Don't worry, it is not that serious" commented Arlecchino, her arms folded in front of her chest. "The painkillers knocked him out"

"He doesn't look fine" I said through gritted teeth. The harbinger woman just rolled her eyes.

"He received treatment from us, even if it wasn't our duty to do that. We could just let him die. He will heal" she said.

I needed a hell of a load of self control to not choke that woman with my bare hands. But technically, she was right. Diluc's injuries were big, but nothing serious he can't heal of.

"I will order two of my subordinates to help you take him home. Don't worry, we will leave him at the front door then leave" while she was talking I scratched the bandage on my left arm nervously. My blood was already taken by them, I already did my part of the agreement. I just had to hope that Arlecchino would not betray the small trust I had..

————-

Eventually, Arlecchino kept her word. We arrived back at Dawn winery, almost causing Adelinde a heart attack.

We've been back for hours and even though the tiredness wanted to kick me off my leg, I stayed at Diluc's side.

He was in bed, still unconscious, a high fever attacking his body.

A sister from the Cathedral, Nina came to take care of him, examining him. She sent out the maids, and wanted me out of the room as well, but I stubbornly wanted to be there, by Diluc's side.

Nina finished with her work, sighing loudly.

"Master Diluc will be fine, I think" she said. "His wounds are not infected, and not too deep. But I am concerned about his fever... it is higher than a normal person's"

I sat down by the bed, holding Diluc's left hand.

"It should be fine" I sighed. "His normal body temperature got higher even since he received his vision, so probably his fever level is the equivalent of the normal fever we have"

She nodded. "Yes, that is what I thought" she handed me a little jar of ointment. "I can't do much more now. Let him rest and whenever he wakes up, make him drink a lot of water. This ointment here is for his wounds. Change the bandages two times a day, and apply this ointment on the injuries. I will check on him two days later. Oh, and the wet towels on his body were a great idea, don't forget to change them"

"Thank you, sister" I smiled at her.

She left and now it was only me and Diluc in his room. Any other time, I would look around to see the most intimate area of his life, but right now wasn't the time. All my focus was on him, holding his fire hot hand, looking at his sleeping face.

I love this man so much.

And I was worried sick. I knew he is strong and he would heal. But still.. I couldn't think logically at the moment. I inspected every inch of him. His torso was wrapped in bandages, but the little light skin visible was covered with scars as well. Some are pink, some smaller ones faded into silver scratches, barely visible. His face was paler than usual, sweating lightly because of the fever, his eyebrows furrowed while sleeping. His beautiful, crimson hair loosely all around the pillow, looking like flames.

My quiet inspection was interrupted by a light knock on the door. I didn't want to shout so I walked to the door to see who was there. Jean stood in front of me. She looked behind me, she immediately furrowed her eyebrows worriedly at the sight of Diluc. Then her gaze returned to me.

"Can we talk?" she asked.

I nodded and closed the door behind me. I stood by the wall, next to the door, looking up at Jean. Damn, why everyone is so much taller than me? I felt like a little kid waiting for scolding.

"What happened, Tessa?" she asked.

I sighed. "Once he wakes up and I know he is fine, I will write you my report" I was ready to return to the room, but Jean grabbed my arm.

"I am not asking you as the Acting Grand Master" she said softly. "I am asking you as your friend"

I slid down by the wall, resting my hands on my knees. Jean sat down in front of me.

"The Fatui we overheard that night probably knew nothing about the real mission" I sighed. "The whole act was all about a children's storybook. By going there, we just made everything worse..."

I filled her in with all the happenings, until the time we got captured and with the things I heard from Arlecchino.

"And how did you escape?" she asked, looking worried.

"That's the thing, we didn't escape. She let us go"

"Tessa, what did you do?" she gasped, putting her hand on mine.

"I've made a deal" her eyes widened, she was ready to burst out. "Don't worry" I said quickly. "She needed a small sample of my blood. I thought it through well, and my conclusion is that it can't be harmful for anyone in the city, not even for me. It is troublesome in the long run, as they will probably use it to be stronger, but honestly, the Fatui is way too strong already. But please, don't tell this to anyone"

She relaxed, but only just a little bit. I knew she was worried. For me. For Diluc. But we reached the best possible results. We could be dead. Mondstadt could be engaged in a war. Compared to that, we payed a relatively small price.

"I am not happy about this" she said eventually. "But I trust you. And I will keep your secret" she stood up. "You can return to him now" she gave me a soft smile.

I stood up and returned to Diluc's room. He was still sleeping. I sat down the chair next to his bed. I was exhausted. I haven't slept since I woke up in that cell.

I was holding his hand, and I felt my eyes want to shut. Eventually the exhaustion took over and I fell asleep, sitting in the chair.

——

I woke up at sunset. Diluc was still sleeping, breathing slowly. I stood up to change the wet towels on his forehead and ankles.

When I put the towels on his still hot forehead his eyes slowly opened. His gaze was hazy, staring deep into my eyes.

"Tessa" he breathed out my name shakily. I reached for the water on the nightstand.

"Come, drink" I told him, gently lifting his head. He emptied the whole glass, not asking anything. He probably couldn't think clearly because of the fever.

He was looking at me with those hazy, crimson eyes.

"I need to change your bandages" I said. He nodded. I helped him to sit up, he was really heavy, and even though he probably had no energy, he tried his best to help me.

I removed the old bandages, at some parts, it was stained with his blood. I applied the ointment on his scars, without any second thoughts. Any other time, I would have been stunned by running my fingers through his nicely toned body, but at the moment, my only feelings were that I want him to be okay. I want him to heal. And I want to help him as much as I can.

I applied fresh bandages, then I helped him to lay back.

"You need to rest now, Diluc" I smiled at him softly, re-applying the wet towel on his forehead.

He gently lifted his right hand, and touched my face.

"I love you, Tessa" he whispered. "I love you so much"

My eyes widened and my heartbeat fastened in a second by his words. But before I could even answer, he was asleep again, his hand falling back to the bed.

I stood there, above him, completely shocked.

Did I hear it correctly? Did he just confessed to me? Well, he said my name... oh archons.

I sat down, still shocked, but a stupid grin appeared on my face.

And this idiot just went to sleep after that?